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HSGMC takes control of Gurdwara Nada Sahib in Panchkula
HSGMC has taken control of all eight main gurdwaras in the state in line with Supreme Court orders, said committee’s former president Baljit Singh Daduwal
Amid police presence, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) took over the management of historical Gurdwara Nada Sahib in Panchkula on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the day, former HSGMC president Baljit Singh Daduwal and incumbent president Mahant Karamjit Singh also took over the management of Gurdwara Manji Sahib and Gurdwara Neem Sahib in Kaithal, along with Gurdwara Dhamtaan Sahib in Jind.
The takeovers first started on Sunday, almost five months after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act 2014.
It all began with HSGMC taking over the management of Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi in Kurukshetra, considered the headquarters of Haryana’s gurdwara politics and previously under the control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), leading to a scuffle between the two bodies amid allegations of forcible takeovers.
However, unlike Kurukshetra, the takeover in Panchkula went off peacefully.
Former HSGPC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda and his supporters reached the premises around 10 am on Tuesday and sought keys of the golaks. After they were denied the keys, some 10-15 supporters sat in protest till evening, when more HSGMC members, including Mahant and Daduwal, arrived with police and took over the gurdwara’s management.
“Gurdwara Nada Sahib is a sub-office as per the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014. On Tuesday evening, forms were filled by all sewadars, confirming that they want to work with the new management. Later, after ardaas, locks of golaks were changed and the takeover was carried out with full support of all sewadars,” said Daduwal, adding that changes in the official documents will take 10 to 15 days.
Sewadars concerned about service conditions
Meanwhile, gurdwara’s head Granthi Bhai Jagjeet Singh, who has been serving for 23 years, said, “Sewadars are apprehensive about the change in management. A meeting was held on Wednesday and all concerns were shared with the executive of the new committee.”
“There are 103 employees at Gurdwara Nada Sahib. We are afraid they will ask us to leave. Also, we are not sure if we will continue to get monetary benefits like provident fund and medical claim as provided earlier. SGPC should also help sewadars who want to serve in Punjab,” said an employee, not wishing to be named.
On sewadars’ concerns, Daduwal said no one will be removed from services: “We assure that sewadars will not suffer any losses. Within a week , a general House meeting will be scheduled, and all issues will be addressed and resolved.”
“HSGMC has taken control of all eight main gurdwaras in the state in line with Supreme Court orders,” he said.
Ramneek Singh, member of the executive committee of HSGPC, said, “I will remain based in Nada Sahib. There will be no change in service conditions, be it provident fund, gratuity or leave encashment.”
Memorial for Guru Gobind Singh’s visit
A major religious tourism destination in the tricity, Gurdwara Nada Sahib is located on the bank of Ghaggar river in Shivalik foothills, around 10 km from Chandigarh. It serves as the memorial for the halt of Sikhism’s 10th Guru, Gobind Singh, while travelling from Paonta Sahib to Anandpur Sahib after the Battle of Bhangani in 1688.
The gurdwara is named after Nadu Shah, a Sikh devotee, who had ardently served Guru Gobind Singh and his army during their halt. The shrine was under the Dharmarth Board of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) in 1948 and taken over by the SPGC after the union’s merger with Punjab in 1956.
The gurdwara’s double-storey domed structure has a large rectangular meeting hall adjacent to it. The complex comprises an area for langar and lodging rooms for pilgrims. Thousands of devotees flock the shrine every full moon, observed as Puranmashi.
In 2020, the Central government had sanctioned ₹25 crore for the development of the gurdwara into a religious tourism centre.
